TaRL Blog
Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) news and insights from around the world.
The TaRL approach invests in systems and educators to strengthen children’s foundational skills
A teacher facilitating a TaRL numeracy activity. Photo: TaRL Africa Foundational literacy skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic are important. These skills help children learn and master concepts in school, which build them to become successful,...
Kenya needs to invest in advancing literacy and numeracy skills in early grades.
Learners practice a literacy activity in small groups during a TaRL session. Photo: TaRL Africa Learning outcomes for children in early grades are poor despite ambitious education reforms in the country, such as the free primary education act and the introduction of...
Embedding Teaching at the Right Level programmes into government systems in Nigeria
A teacher facilitating a TaRL literacy activity in Nigeria. (Photo: British Council) “My donkey’s name is Bare.” This seems like a simple sentence. However, according to statistics from the 'Learning Crisis in the Nigerian Literacy of 2021' 70 percent of...
Simple, Timely Learning Assessments Are Essential to Driving Instruction That Leads to Improvements in Learning Outcomes
A teacher facilitating a TaRL numeracy activity in Nigeria. (Photo: British Council) In line with the RISE messaging campaign action of ‘Measure learning reliably, regularly, and relevantly’, we discuss one example of what such learning measurement looks like in the...
Government officials in Uganda visit Teaching at the Right Level in schools
Government officials visit TaRL sessions in Uganda. Photo: VVOB in Uganda “Why are we not teaching like this in all classrooms?” asked Mr. Ismael Mulindwa, the Director of Basic & Secondary Education from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), when he...
GRiC mainstreams parental engagement in promoting holistic foundational learning in underserved communities of Kenya
TaRL session at Noosidan Primary School, Kajiado County. Photo: Samwel Mwayi, GRiC Nashipai is a mother of three children who are students at a primary school in Kajiado, Kenya. She is also a part of the parental engagement programme run by Grassroots Nest for...
Kebbi Foundational Skills Accelerator (KeFSA) implementation continues into 2023 with government support
A learner is assessed during a TaRL session in Nigeria. Photo: TaRL Africa In September 2022, the Kebbi state government continued its strong commitment to enhancing foundational literacy and numeracy in the state by renewing funding support to Kebbi Foundational...
South-south learning together: Reflecting on TaRL Africa’s learning journeys to India
TaRL Africa team members participate in a science activity during a study tour to India. Photo: TaRL Africa Learning is constant in TaRL Africa. Since international travel restrictions relaxed, several team members have been visiting TaRL programming across the world...
A growing community of practice implements the TaRL approach across Sub-Saharan Africa
TaRL Africa colleagues conduct a TaRL training in Zanzibar. Photo: Milele Zanzibar Foundation TaRL Africa is excited to support a budding community of practice, which includes multiple organisations implementing TaRL in contexts across sub-Saharan Africa. This year,...
How do teachers’ beliefs and intentions influence the delivery of teaching practices in Zambia?
Learners participate in a TaRL activity during a Catch Up session in Zambia. Photo: VVOB Busara Center, Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa and VVOB have entered into a unique new partnership to study the influence of teachers’ beliefs and intentions on the...
Education actors in Côte d’Ivoire shine a spotlight on the importance of foundational skills for learners
Representatives from Côte d’Ivoire’s education landscape attended the TaRL Africa-hosted stakeholder’s meeting. Photo: TaRL Africa 2022 has been filled with significant events for TaRL Africa’s Côte d’Ivoire team, including the recent stakeholders’ meeting held in...
Looking forward to 2023: Reflections from TaRL Africa’s Executive Director
Children enjoy a fun icebreaker during a TaRL session in Côte d’Ivoire. Photo: TaRL Africa 2022 has been a significant year in the education sector as it marks the resumption of near normal levels of education after months of school disruptions caused by the Covid-19...
Mentoring Teachers: What needs to change? Evidence from a qualitative research of the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach in Côte d’Ivoire.
A teacher conducting a TaRL activity in Côte d'Ivoire. (Photo: TaRL Africa) Most Sub-Saharan African countries have made tremendous efforts to improve access to education. However, this effort is not commensurate with the increase in learning outcomes. For instance in...
If the data has issues, try programme-oriented solutions
A teacher assesses a learner during a TaRL session in Zambia. (Photo: TaRL Africa) As collecting and reviewing data at a large scale becomes increasingly possible, Foundational Literacy & Numeracy (FLN) programmes worldwide are turning to data to learn...
To Improve Learning Outcomes in Nigeria, a Commitment to Foundational Learning cannot be Overemphasized
Learners practice reading in small groups during a TaRL classroom session. Photo: TaRL Africa Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, children globally reported poor foundational reading and maths skills. Most children in Sub-Saharan Africa, including...
Improving Learning Outcomes at Scale: Mid Year Updates 2022
Catch up on how we are improving learning outcomes at scale in our latest updates. While COVID-19 severely hindered learning across the continent, it also created widespread acknowledgment of the learning crisis and acceptance of the need to focus on foundational...
Staff reflections: A letter to my teacher
As we celebrate teachers on the occasion of World Teachers Day, we asked our staff members to write a letter to their favourite teacher. Here's what our colleague, Tanvi, wrote for her primary grade teacher.Dear Phyllis Ma’am, A very happy World Teachers Day! I can...
Transforming Education Begins with Teachers
Mr. Batholomew Kasamika in class teaching Grade 3 learners literacy. Photo: TaRL Africa It all began as a simple volunteer exercise in teaching Sunday School children at his local church. From helping them recite Bible verses and composing songs that would enable...
Street Child: A tale of Resilience and Hope for Out-of-School Children in Cameroon
Children playing at a street learning corner. Photo: Street Child Since the beginning of the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon in 2016, which led to instabilities and displacement, children have been worst affected by school closures in the country’s Northwest and...
Bridging the Gap Program Shines a Ray of Hope for Refugee Children in Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in Uganda
Learners playing number jump during a TaRL session. Photo: YARID Schools recently re-opened in Uganda at the beginning of 2022, nearly two years after closing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is not only COVID-19 that has kept refugee children from...
Programme d’Enseignement Ciblé, an innovative approach to ensuring the acquisition of fundamental skills for all children
Programme d’Enseignement Ciblé, an innovative approach to ensuring the acquisition of fundamental skills for all children Over the past decade, access to primary schooling has improved worldwide, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Most low- and middle-income...
Kenya needs to focus on Foundational Learning to ensure quality education for its children
Learners practice an activity in small groups during a TaRL session. Photo: TaRL Africa To recover from dramatic learning losses, and to ensure quality education throughout life, there is a need for foundational learning. Currently, in low- and middle-income...
Innovation fund to support local NGOs to scale up TaRL approach in Africa
Children practice a TaRL reading activity with flashcards. Photo: Grassroots Nest for Innovation and Change (GRIC) Through the contribution of the Hewlett Foundation, the TaRL Africa NGO innovation fund aims to support local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to...
Nigeria expansion: Spotlight on Kaduna and Bauchi
Learners in a TaRL classroom activity. Photo Credits: TaRL Africa The governments of Kaduna and Bauchi states have committed to implementing Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) pilots after a successful TaRL programme that was implemented in Borno state in November...
TaRL Africa colleagues from across the globe meet in person after two years!
The TaRL Africa team met for a strategy retreat. Photo: TaRL Africa For almost two years, consecutive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic forced many TaRL Africa colleagues to work from home, limiting interactions to online meetings and emails. When it became safer to...
‘Bridging the Gap’ in Uganda with YARID
Learners read words with their teachers. Photo: YARID The ‘Bridging the Gap’ programme implemented by the Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID) uses the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach to build refugee children’s foundational skills and...
TaRL National conference in Nigeria brings together actors in education to address foundational learning
Ongoing panel discussion at the TaRL National Conference in Abuja, Nigeria. The discussion highlights the importance and challenges of foundational skills amongst learners in Nigeria. Credits: TaRL Africa The Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) National Conference was...
OPINION EDITORIAL: PRIORITIZE TEACHING TO CHILD’S LEARNING LEVEL
A TaRL classroom in Kenya. Credit TaRL Africa Many children in sub-Saharan Africa who are enrolled in primary school do not learn the most basic literacy and numeracy skills. These skills include reading, writing, and performing simple mathematics like...
Changing Course, Transforming Education
Children in a TaRL classroom in Côte d’Ivoire. Photo: TaRL Africa Education is the key to the future and a fundamental right for all children. Growing up in a rural area in Kenya, education offered other learners and me the opportunity to expand our worldview....
That’s a wrap for 2021!
Children during a TaRL session in Côte d'Ivoire. Photo Credit: TaRL Africa To download the end-of-the-year updates, click here. TaRL programming in Sub-Saharan Africa reached over a million children with encouraging results across the board! We worked...
Teaching at the Right Level, Africa: Some Lessons on Monitoring, Measurement, and Review to date
Participants conduct a TaRL activity during a Programme d'Enseignement Ciblé (PEC) training session in Côte d'Ivoire. Photo: TaRL Africa Over the last few years, the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa team has worked closely with governments and other partners...
The Crucial Role of Teachers in the Recovery Phase Post-COVID-19
A teacher demonstrates a math activity to whole class during a Catch Up (TaRL) session in Zambia. Photo: Catch Up Program, VVOB and TaRL Africa. For many children in Africa, research shows that most of those who attend school are not acquiring the basic skills...
TaRL Methodology Through Virtual Trainings
Team members from TaRL Africa conduct an energizer during a TaRL training. Photo: Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of TaRL Africa's work had to be shifted online. TaRL Africa central team members, Vikas Varma,...
International Literacy Day: Let’s focus on learning for all
Children practice reading simple paragraphs during the KaLMA programme in Kano, Nigeria. Photo: Kano Literacy and Maths Accelerator (KaLMA) -– UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO)-funded project,delivered by the British Council and Teaching at the...
Learnings from the implementation of the Kano Literacy and Mathematics Accelerator (KaLMA) programme during COVID-19
A child uses a mobile phone to access learning content as part of the KaLMA programme in Kano, Nigeria. Photo: Kano Literacy and Maths Accelerator (KaLMA) -– UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO)-funded project,delivered by the British Council and...
The TaRL approach: a paradigm shift to accelerate learning
Although enrolment in school has increased over the years, learning levels remain low. In Nigeria for example, in spite of the various support efforts by both international and local NGOs, a 2015 report by the Nigeria Education Data Survey (NEDS) puts the literacy and...
Reflections on seven years at J-PAL Africa working to inform policy with evidence
The TaRL Africa Board of Directors meets in Botswana; author Emily Cupito is pictured in the bottom row, second from right. Photo: Noam Angrist, Young 1ove. After seven years working with J-PAL Africa, I am transitioning to a new role working in local school systems...
Announcement: TaRL Africa partners with GPE KIX and IDRC to understand teacher support
Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa is excited to announce its new research engagement with Global Partnership for Education Knowledge Innovation Exchange (GPE KIX), an initiative of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the International Development...
Focusing on the Foundations: Education in the time of COVID-19
As children return to school, we recommend connecting assessment with action and focusing on the foundations to ensure equitable learning for all.
COVID-19 makes Teaching at the Right Level even more pressing
Read the blogpost by Lant Pritchett on the RISE blog...
Engaging parents in children’s continuous learning at home
This blogpost is part of a series - over the next few months, the TaRL blog hopes to showcase what various organisations are doing to continue to support education systems and ensure that learning continues while schools across the world are closed and many countries...
Inclusion and education: all means all (GEMR 2020)
The 2020 Global Education Monitoring Report (GEMR) references TaRL as an example of an inclusive teaching approach, which adapts to children's needs. Read the report≫
The domicile of TaRL—a personal reflection
“Once you stop learning, you start dying” – Albert Einstein. I wanted to keep learning so, in February 2020, I set out on a two week learning journey to India – the home of the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach developed by Pratham. To make the most out of...
The TaRL Africa Learning Agenda
Members of the TaRL Africa Community of Practice discuss TaRL pedagogy. Photo: Samyukta Lakshman, TaRL Africa. Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) is a learning approach. In the approach, both children and adults are challenged to assess their competencies, test...
Accelerating Learning When Schools Resume
Children in a PEC classroom in Côte d'Ivoire read a short paragraph. Photo: Samyukta Lakshman The Challenge The COVID-19 pandemic has meant the sudden closure of schools across the world. According to UNICEF, as of 20 April 2020, over 1.6 billion students (91%...
Meet TaRL Africa’s Managing Director: Titus Syengo
Titus Syengo. Photo: Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa is a joint venture by Pratham and J-PAL established in January 2019. The TaRL Africa team supports partners working to address the learning crisis in primary...
Watch: Iqbal Dhaliwal – A journey from evidence to scale
On 3 February 2020, Iqbal Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director of J-PAL, discusses the journey to scale the evidence-based Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) education approach across India and Africa, with support in Zambia from USAID Development Innovation...
Education during the pandemic: Same purpose, adapted programme – how Young 1ove is pivoting in the face of COVID-19
A Young 1ove TaRL facilitator explains a maths sum to learners. Photo: Young 1ove This blogpost is part of a series - over the next few months, the TaRL blog hopes to showcase what various organisations are doing to continue to support education systems and ensure...
Education during the pandemic: VVOB continues capacity development of education partners from a safe distance
VVOB Zambia team member Richard Bwale continues to work from home. Photo: VVOB This blogpost is part of a series - over the next few months, the TaRL blog hopes to showcase what various organisations are doing to continue to support education systems and ensure that...
Data for action
How Zambia’s Catch Up team uses case studies to highlight the importance of using data to improve learning The Ministry of General Education in Zambia is entering its fourth year of scaling the Catch Up Programme. In 2020, the Ministry will run the programme in more...
Pratham: A movement, born in India, spreading in Botswana and beyond
Read the post on the Pratham blog, by Noam Angrist, Moitshepi Matsheng, Thato Letsomo, and Sunshine Ntshambiwa, leaders of Young 1ove, one of the largest youth NGOs in Botswana. Young 1ove is committed to scaling-up health and education programs backed by rigorous...
Celebrating Mother Languages: a personal reflection by Usha Rane
On International Mother Languages Day, Usha Rane (Pratham and TaRL Africa team member) shares her personal reflections from years of working in and visiting schools across Asia and Africa, and celebrates children learning to read in their mother languages. A tall...
Developing a new numeracy assessment tool
Careful monitoring and observation of each component of the TaRL approach is an important aspect of successful TaRL implementation. In this post, we reflect on how the TaRL Africa team, along with country TaRL teams in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, identified challenges...
Catching Up in Kazungula
From 27-28 January 2020, Rukmini Banerji (CEO, Pratham) visited Zambia with the TaRL Africa Board of Directors to see the Catch Up programme in action. She shares snapshots from the visit and reflections on the Catch Up programme. The teacher was telling a...
En Côte d’Ivoire, enseigner à hauteur d’élève dans les communautés du cacao
Une meilleure école pour moins de pauvreté en Afrique (3). Un programme privé vise à renforcer l’apprentissage dans les régions cacaoyères, très touchées par le travail des enfants. - Le Monde Afrique
Banerjee and Duflo’s journey with Pratham
Pratham CEO Rukmini Banerji reflects on her relationship with Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. Read the reflection on Ideas for India.
Letting the world know ‘what works’
Arjun Agarwal (Pratham) reflects on how randomised evaluations have contributed to understanding what works, including Pratham's TaRL approach. Read the article:"Randomised control trials pioneered by this year’s Economics Nobel winners have helped crack complex...
Reflections from the 2019 TaRL Workshop: learning about a child-centred education approach
From 9-18 September, Young 1ove and TaRL Africa hosted participants from organisations across Africa for a TaRL learning journey and workshop in Gaborone, Botswana. Lindi Strydom from South African-based organisation, Community Action Partnership (CAP) reflects on her...
Reflections from a TaRL Workshop trainer
TaRL Workshop 2019 trainer, Fred Abungu. Photo: Young 1ove. From 10-18 September 2019, TaRL Africa and Young 1ove co-hosted a TaRL Workshop. The workshop covered each aspect of the TaRL approach including TaRL models, assessment, reading and maths classroom...
A movement to equip children with foundational reading and mathematics skills gains momentum across Africa
Members of the TaRL Africa Community who gathered in Gaborone from 5-7 September. Photo: Young 1ove From 5-18 September, Young 1ove, in partnership with TaRL Africa, (a formal partnership between Pratham and J-PAL) hosted a series of TaRL events in Botswana. In...
How this year’s Nobel Prize winners have helped to shape an education revolution in Africa
TaRL Africa team member Ashleigh Morrell reflects on how Nobel laureates, Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee, helped pave the way for a quiet Teaching at the Right Level revolution across schools in Africa. It’s late 2016, and I’m standing at the back of a classroom in...
Nobel Prize winners’ contribution to addressing the learning crisis
Watch the announcement of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, which mentions the Nobel Prize winners' work on Teaching at the Right Level. The prize was awarded to J-PAL co-founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, and J-PAL...
J-PAL Co-Founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo Awarded Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics
Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) co-founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, with longtime J-PAL affiliate Michael Kremer, were jointly awarded the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The prize was awarded “for...
How Co-Impact Collaborates for Change
Read Barron's Penta article about Co-Impact's collaborative approach to systems change, and their support to TaRL Africa, featuring Rukmini Banerji (Pratham and TaRL Africa) and Laura Poswell (J-PAL Africa and TaRL Africa).
Sharing TaRL Lessons Across Continents: Catch Up team visit to India
From 6 to 11 May, members of the Catch Up team from Zambia visited India to meet Pratham staff, see TaRL classes in action, and meet school and government staff working on TaRL programmes. The Catch Up team reflects on the visit.
Watch: “How to Change the World” – Freethink
Watch Freethink's video, featuring Co-Impact CEO, Olivia Leland. She talks about how to address some of the world's most complex problems at scale, using TaRL Africa as an example.
What Have we Learned About the Learning Crisis? – Brookings
Read Michelle Kaffenberger's (Research Fellow, RISE) post on the Brookings blog discussing the depth of the learning crisis.
TaRL Community Mathematics Training
Elizabeth Ndyanabangi who worked closely on the Roots to Rise intervention in Uganda , reflects on a TaRL Mathematics training organized by the People’s Action for Learning Network (PAL Network), which took place in Bungoma, Kenya. TaRL Mathematics Training in...
TaRL Borno Pilot Wraps Up
The Borno State Government with support from the Department for International Development (DFID) through UNICEF, Plan International, and TaRL Africa recently concluded a small Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) pilot reaching over 9000 children in twelve schools. The...
Join the TaRL Africa Team
TaRL Africa: Who we are The Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa team was launched in January as a joint initiative of Pratham and J-PAL. We collaborate with governments and partners across Africa to address the learning crisis in primary schools through TaRL, an...
New Teaching at the Right Level Video
Watch the video about Pratham's Teaching at the Right Level approach, featuring footage from the Zambian Ministry of General Education's Catch Up programme.
Follow TaRL Africa on Twitter!
The Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa team has recently launched their own Twitter account. Click here for TaRL_Africa news and updates!
From Big Data to Big Impact – Dr. Rukmini Banerji
Watch Rukmini Banerji's (CEO, Pratham) presentation about how Pratham has used data to understand and improve learning.
Release: J-PAL and Pratham awarded philanthropic funding toward education systems change
On January 15, Co-Impact, a global philanthropic collaborative for systems change, announced a commitment of…
It’s hard to design good policies. This simple idea can help governments do it.
Read Meagan Neal’s post on Vox, about how to improve government policy, using the Zambian government’s implementation of Catch Up in Zambia…
Pratham: The Grameen Bank of Education in the Developing World
Read Nany Birdsall’s post about Pratham’s TaRL approach. “I was in Delhi last week and saw Pratham—India’s largest non-governmental…
Recruiting Youth Volunteers in Africa: Lessons from Evidence Action
Read Evidence Action’s blogpost reflecting on the TaRL Conference and sharing lessons on recruiting and retaining youth volunteers…
Measuring Progress Is Key to Achieving Universal Education
“Getting to the heart of the learning crisis requires better data.”Education represents a chance at a better life and better opportunities. Read the post on Global Citizen…
Hands-on and playful learning: this is Zambia’s education revolution
Read Sabina Vigani’s reflection on the Zambia field visits. The field visits took place from 24-25 September…
Meera’s Story: Why It’s Crucial to Find Solutions to the Global Learning Crisis
Read Dr. Rukmini Banerji’s post on Global Citizen, which highlights the need to build early foundations for a successful education…
Bringing together an inspired and motivated community for our Teaching at the Right Level Conference
To facilitate learning across these different contexts, Pratham and J-PAL Africa hosted a TaRL Conference from 26-27 September in Johannesburg…
How do you scale spirit?
Read a post from the Brookings blog, which discusses ways to scale the “spirit of TaRL”…
Teaching at the Right Level Website Launch
J-PAL Africa and Pratham have launched a new Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) website in response to growing demand from governments, schools, and NGOs for details on TaRL methodology and implementation. In recent years, education stakeholders have become...
Applying the generalizability framework: Adopting Teaching at the Right Level in Zambia
Cross–posted from the J-PAL blog. How can governments learn from evidence generated from randomized evaluations? Over the last three years, J-PAL Africa has supported the Zambian Ministry of General Education to pilot and scale up…
Adapting a new educational approach to francophone West Africa
Cross posted from the J-PAL blog. In francophone West Africa, despite progress made in primary school enrollment rates, students’ learning levels remain low throughout primary school. For example, in Côte d’Ivoire, more than half of students did not reach a...
Teaching at the Right Level: Inside the classroom
Cross-posted from the J-PAL blog. The application of the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach in Zambia, through the Ministry of General Education’s Catch Up program…
Zambia to scale Teaching at the Right Level programme to 1,800 schools
Cross-posted from the J-PAL blog. Building on over a decade of rigorous research around the world and two years of iterative learning in Zambia…
From India to Zambia: A Learning Journey
Cross-posted from the J-PAL blog. How can policymakers integrate lessons from innovations proven to be effective in another context? Learning journeys can play a key role in understanding the implementation and context details which drove a program’s impact and might...
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